HB 23-1020

HB 23-1020, a Colorado bill that has been signed into law, aims to support social equity by creating special licenses for people who have faced discrimination in the marijuana industry. These new licenses allow eligible individuals to deliver and sell marijuana directly to consumers at their homes without needing additional retail store licenses. The bill also provides financial incentives like fee reductions and grants to help these license holders start or grow their businesses. This law will take effect on March 1, 2024, and it impacts those applying for social equity licenses after this date but does not affect existing license renewals before then.

Official Summary

The bill creates an independent delivery license for social equity licensees to deliver and sell retail marijuana and retail marijuana products to consumers at the consumer's private residence and requires the department of revenue to promulgate rules concerning the independent delivery license. The bill creates an accelerator independent delivery license, accelerator hospitality business license, and accelerator transporter license, and accelerator retail deliverer permittee for social equity licensees qualified to participate in the accelerator program. The bill requires the department of revenue to provide an annual report to the finance committees of the house of representatives and the senate concerning active social equity licenses, any recommendations for new social equity licenses and permits, and any recommendations for new or innovating funding sources for the social equity licensees or permittees. Effective January 2, March 1, 2024, the bill amends the eligibility requirements for a person to qualify as a social equity licensee. The bill clarifies that the new eligibility requirements only apply to social equity licensee applications received on or after January 2, March 1, 2024. or to the reinstatement or reactivation of social equity licenses originally issued before January 2, 2024. The new eligibility requirements do not apply to the renewal of social equity licenses applied for or issued before January 2, March 1, 2024. The bill authorizes a social equity licensee who satisfies the eligibility requirements effective January 2, 2024, with a retail marijuana transporter licensee and a retail marijuana delivery permit or an accelerator retail deliverer permit, to exercise the privileges of a retail marijuana store license without needing to obtain a retail marijuana store license or accelerator store license. The bill requires permits the department of revenue to create incentives for social equity licensees and accelerator-endorsed licensees, including reducing or waiving fees. The bill requires the department of regulatory agencies, as part its sunset review of the "Colorado Marijuana Code" in 2028, to review social equity licensing and the independent delivery license. The bill creates, in the office of economic development, a grant committee that is responsible for reviewing grant applications, selecting grant recipients, and determining grant awards that are issued pursuant to an existing grant program for supporting entrepreneurs in the marijuana industry. The bill amends the statutory provision concerning retail marijuana sales tax to state that a retailer is not allowed to retain any portion of the retail marijuana sales tax collected to cover the expenses of collecting and remitting the tax. The bill appropriates $330,625 to the department of revenue, and $114,199 to the department of law. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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